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Biomedical subjects

C R Gomez

Publications and source records attributed to C R Gomez.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Early results of percutaneous intervention for severe coexisting carotid and coronary artery disease.

Fifty-one patients with severe coexisting carotid and symptomatic coronary artery occlusive disease successfully underwent staged or simultaneous coronary angioplasty and carotid stenting. One pericardial effusion and 2 minor strokes with full recovery occurred in the hospital, but no major neurologic events, myocardial infarction, or death were observed and no repeat revascularization was required within the 30-day follow-up.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Carotid artery stenting in patients with high neurologic risks.

Forty-four patient with high neurologic risks (Mayo class IV) successfully underwent carotid artery stenting with combined major stroke and death rates of 4.5%. Late follow-up at a mean of 23 +/- 1.8 months showed 1 non-neurologic death, but no neurologic events or repeat stenting procedures.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Neuroendovascular rescue. Nonthrombolytic approach to acute brain ischemia.

The field of neuroendovascular therapy is rapidly growing. New technology and operators' expertise is developing at a pace that will make this discipline progressively more available and successful. For the intensive care of patients who have acute brain ischemia, new techniques of recanalizing occluded arteries are progressively being introduced. Thus, the concept of neuroendovascular rescue has gone beyond the use of thrombolytic drugs, expanding our capability to restore flow to ischemic brain tissue after prolonged therapeutic windows. It is important for the interventionalist and the intensivist to work closely together to guarantee the most favorable outcome possible.

Angioplasty, Balloon↗
PubMed1999

Endovascular therapy of traumatic injuries of the extracranial cerebral arteries.

The field of neuroendovascular therapy is rapidly growing. New technology and operators' expertise are developing at a pace that will make this discipline progressively more available and successful. For patients who have traumatic injuries of the extracranial arteries, endovascular therapy offers a new dimension to the treatment of these injuries and the prevention of stroke. Because many of these patients are likely to be critically ill, it is important to keep in mind the principles of their management before, during, and after the procedure, thus assuring the best chance for a successful outcome. Furthermore, some of the issues related to their neurointensive care will serve as guides for the need for endovascular therapy, as well as its timing.

Angioplasty, Balloon↗
PubMed1999

Influence of age upon complications of carotid artery stenting. UAB Neurovascular Angioplasty Team.

PURPOSE: To examine the impact of age upon the development of neurological and major systemic complications during or after carotid artery stenting. METHODS: We reviewed the complications that occurred in patients undergoing elective carotid stent implantation between September 1994 and August 1996. The study population was then divided into 3 groups according to age: > or = 80 (group A), 75 to 79 (group B), and < or = 74 (group C) years. The rates of death, major and minor stroke, and myocardial infarction were compared among the groups, as well as with the rates reported by the major carotid endarterectomy (CEA) trials. RESULTS: During the study period, 182 patients (216 vessels) were treated with carotid stenting. There were 19 (10.4%) complications: 1 (0.5%) death, 2 (1.1%) major strokes, 15 (8.2%) minor strokes, and 1 (0.5%) myocardial infarction. Neurological complications were clearly related to increased age with rates of 25.0% in group A versus 8.6% in group C (p = 0.042). The overall per patient rate of death or major stroke was 1.6% (1.4% per vessel). CONCLUSIONS: Increasing age has a negative impact on the rate of complications in carotid stent patients. However, the majority of those complications are minor. The relative roles of medical therapy, stenting, and CEA in patients > 80 years of age must await the results of randomized trials.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Neurological monitoring during carotid artery stenting: the Duck Squeezing Test.

PURPOSE: To examine the usefulness of a novel method for neurological monitoring during carotid artery stenting (CAS). METHODS: The records of patients who underwent elective CAS between June 1996 and October 1998 were reviewed to identify those who had neurological changes during the procedure. We examined whether the neurological change had been detected by a change in the ability of the patient to respond to predetermined commands involving a small rubber duck placed in the contralateral hand. RESULTS: hundred seventy patients (320 vessels) underwent monitoring using the Duck Squeezing Test; 10 suffered neurological events during the procedure. Four of these were transient and temporally related to balloon inflation. Another 6 were tentatively ascribed to distal embolism. All instances were accompanied by a change in the patient's ability to perform the Duck Squeezing Test, which allowed the identification of the abnormal clinical situation. In addition, there were 4 false-positive tests secondary to the patient accidentally dropping the rubber duck. CONCLUSIONS: The Duck Squeezing Test is a sensitive and specific method for monitoring patients during elective CAS. Its practical applicability is based on sound neurophysiological concepts, which underscore the clinical importance of the test.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Extracranial vertebral artery stent placement: in-hospital and follow-up results.

OBJECT: The authors summarize their experience with stent deployment in the treatment of vertebrobasilar artery (VBA) insufficiency. This is an underdiagnosed condition, and the incidence of significant vertebral artery (VA) stenosis has been underappreciated. Medical therapy has been the mainstay of treatment because of the high rate of morbidity associated with surgical correction of VA stenosis. Recently, some authors have reported acceptable results with the use of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, but this technique has significant weaknesses such as elastic recoil and problems in achieving safe treatment of dissections. METHODS: The authors investigated the feasibility, safety, and outcome of VA stent placement in 50 patients in whom 55 vessels were treated using stents. Technical success was achieved in 54 (98%) of 55 vessels, with no procedure-related complications. However, one patient (2%) died of nonneurological causes, and one (2%) suffered a stroke that occurred within the 30-day postprocedural period and was related to a complicated coronary intervention. Clinical follow-up review performed at a mean of 25 +/- 10 months revealed two patients (4%) with recurrence of VBA symptoms. Six-month angiographic follow up was completed in 90% of eligible patients, with a 10% incidence of restenosis as defined by greater than 50% luminal narrowing. CONCLUSIONS: Vertebral artery stent placement is feasible in patients who have significant VA stenosis, with predictably good angiographically demonstrated and clinical results. The 6-month angiographically confirmed restenosis rate appears to be low, as does the clinical recurrence rate. This technique solves the problems of elastic recoil and the treatment of angioplasty-induced dissections. Further prospective comparison with medical preventive strategies is warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Elective carotid artery stenting in the presence of contralateral occlusion.

Significant carotid stenosis in the presence of an occluded contralateral artery has a poor prognosis with medical therapy alone. Carotid cross clamping during surgical endarterectomy results in critical flow reductions in patients with inadequate collateral flow, and represents a significant risk for procedural strokes. Carotid stenting is being evaluated as an alternative to endarterectomy. We describe the immediate and late outcome of a series of 26 patients treated with carotid stenting in the presence of contralateral carotid occlusion. The mean age of the patients in this group was 65 +/- 9 years, 23 (89%) were men and 10 (39%) were symptomatic from the vessel treated. The procedural success of carotid stenting in this group of patients was 96%. The mean diameter stenosis was reduced from 76 +/- 15% to 2.8 +/- 5%. There was 1 (3.8%) minor stroke in a patient who developed air embolism during baseline angiography. At late follow-up there was no neurologic event in any patient at a mean of 16 +/- 9.5 months after the procedure. Thus, carotid stenting of lesions with contralateral occlusion can be performed successfully with a low incidence of procedural neurologic complications and late stroke.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Predictors of stroke complicating carotid artery stenting.

BACKGROUND: The evolving technique of carotid stenting is being evaluated as an alternative to endarterectomy. Identification of the factors that predispose a patient to neurological complications would facilitate further refinement of the technique and optimize patient selection. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed the impact of various clinical, morphological, and procedural determinants on the development of procedural strokes in 231 patients who underwent elective (primary) stenting of 271 extracranial carotid arteries. The mean age of the patients was 68.7+/-10 years, 165 (71%) were males, and 139 (60%) had symptoms attributed to the lesion treated. This series represented a high-risk subset with 164 patients (71%) having significant coronary artery disease, 91 (39%) having bilateral disease, and 28 (12%) having contralateral carotid occlusion. Of the treated vessels, 59 (22%) had prior carotid endarterectomy, 66 (24%) had ulcerated plaques, and 87 (32%) had calcified lesions. Only 37 treated vessels (14%) would have been eligible for inclusion in the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET). There were 17 (6.2%) minor and 2 (0.7%) major strokes during and within 30 days of the procedure. NASCET-eligible patients had a low (2.7%) risk of procedural strokes after carotid stenting. The results of multivariate analysis revealed advanced age (P=.006) and presence of long or multiple stenoses (P=.006) as independent predictors of procedural strokes. CONCLUSIONS: During this procedural developmental phase of carotid stenting, neurological complications were highly dependent on patient selection. Advanced age and long or multiple stenoses were independent predictors of procedural stroke.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Simultaneous bilateral carotid stenting for restenosis after endarterectomy.

Carotid stenting may offer an alternative to surgery for recurrent carotid artery stenosis following endarterectomy. Five patients successfully underwent percutaneous simultaneous bilateral carotid artery stenting for restenosis after endarterectomy, without complications. Six months of clinical and imaging follow-up showed preserved patency of all vessels treated, with no neurologic events in any of the patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Relationship between oversizing of self-expanding stents and late loss index in carotid stenting.

Stenting of the internal carotid artery is facilitated by stenting across the carotid bifurcation and sizing the diameter of a self-expanding stent to the large common carotid segment. This usually results in marked oversizing of the self-expanding stent in the internal carotid segment. This study was done to determine the relationship between stent oversizing and late luminal loss index after stenting of the internal carotid artery. Between September 1995 and March 1997, there were 165 patients (189 vessels) who underwent successful carotid stenting with self-expanding stents. Fifty-nine patients (63 vessels) had six-month follow-up carotid angiograms and on-line quantitative angiographic analysis. The mean reference diameter of the internal carotid arteries was 4.93+/-1.31 mm. Nominal stent size was 5 mm in 4 patients, 6 mm in 6 patients, 8 mm in 106 patients, 10 mm in 77 patients, and 12 mm in 1 patient. The average stent/patient was 1.03+/-0.16. There were three patients who had more than 50% diameter renarrowing at follow-up. The mean late loss index was 0.25+/-0.41. By linear regression analysis, there was no clear linear relationship between stent oversizing and late loss index after stenting (correlation coefficient = -0.21, P = 0.09). When analysis of variance with linear contrast was used to analyze six groups of different stent/artery ratios (from 1.4 to > or = 2), late loss indexes are significantly lower in the groups of high stent/artery ratio than the groups of low stent/artery ratio (P = 0.01). The process of oversizing of self-expanding stents deployed in the internal carotid artery does not appear to be associated with late restenosis and high stent/artery ratio seems to be associated with low late loss index.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The role of carotid angioplasty and stenting.

The prevention of stroke in patients with carotid pathology has been traditionally carried out with either medications that prevent clot formation (i.e., warfarin or antiplatelet agents) or revascularization of stenotic segments of the artery by surgical means (i.e., carotid endarterectomy). Recently, the use of percutaneous endovascular techniques, to treat lesions of the carotid artery has become increasingly popular. The most important techniques being used for this purpose are balloon angioplasty and stenting. Although still under intense investigation, it is already clear that endovascular therapy of the carotid artery is effective in the correction of lesions not readily accessible by surgery, those due to recurrent stenosis after endarterectomy, those not of an atherosclerotic nature, and those with unusually high surgical morbidity and mortality. The role of endovascular therapy in the treatment of type A lesions, which are perfect for endarterectomy, awaits the completion of prospective randomized trials. However, care must be exercised in the planning of these trials to allow a fair testing of the endovascular procedures.

Angioplasty, Balloon↗
PubMed1997

Magnetic resonance cisternography in the diagnosis of delayed iatrogenic cerebrospinal fistula: a case report.

A 52-year-old woman presented with a clinical picture consistent with bacterial meningitis 3 years after functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Diagnosis of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula was made clinically, and the site of the fistula was confirmed using magnetic resonance cisternography. The utilization of this technique in the diagnosis of CSF disorders is gaining popularity. Its usefulness in the context of other imaging modalities is discussed.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea↗
PubMed1996

Cerebrovascular hemodynamic inefficiency of premature ventricular contractions.

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) measurements of middle cerebral artery (MCA) blood flow velocities were recorded and synchronized with electrocardiographic (EKG) recordings in 52 EKG/TCD complexes in 4 patients. Thirty-seven normal sinus beats and 13 conductive and 2 nonconductive premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) were examined. Mean velocities averaged 45 +/- 4 cm/sec for normal sinus rhythm (NSR) vs 26 +/- 4 cm/sec in the PVC group (P = 0.007). Peak systolic velocities averaged 74 +/- 6 cm/sec for the NSR and 45 +/- 7 cm/sec in the PVC group (P = 0.016). The latency between the QRS complexes and corresponding TCD wave forms (QRS-SU) averaged 0.12 +/- 0.03 sec in NSR AND 0.17 +/- 0.04 sec for the PVC group (P < 0.001). In addition, QRS-SU was inversely related to all velocities. PVCs appeared to be less hemodynamically efficient than NSR. The lower blood flow velocities and increased QRS-SU may result from lower stroke volume and delayed ventricular contraction associated with the aberrant QRS complex.

Blood Flow Velocity↗
PubMed1996

Isolated vertigo as a manifestation of vertebrobasilar ischemia.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to demonstrate that isolated episodes of vertigo can be the only manifestation of vertebrobasilar ischemia. BACKGROUND: Isolated persistent vertigo is classically ascribed to labyrinthine disorders and is only rarely considered to reflect vertebrobasilar ischemia. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed all of the records of the Saint Louis University Stroke Registry between January 1, 1992 and September 1, 1993. We set out to identify those patients discharged with a diagnosis of transient ischemic attack (TIA) in the vertebrobasilar system. We reviewed their clinical records and the results of their diagnostic studies. RESULTS: We screened 600 admissions and found 29 patients with vertebrobasilar circulation TIAs. Of these, five men and one woman had episodic vertigo for at least 4 weeks as their only presenting symptom. All six patients had one of two abnormal patterns on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA): focal basilar stenosis or widespread vertebrobasilar slow flow. In three patients, the MRA findings were confirmed by cerebral angiography. Five patients were treated with warfarin and one with aspirin. Two patients developed brainstem infarctions, one of them fatal. CONCLUSIONS: Isolated vertigo can be the only manifestation of vertebrobasilar ischemia. Its frequency may be underestimated in clinical practice. Noninvasive testing is helpful both for diagnosis and follow-up.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System used in the care of patients in pentobarbital-induced coma to determine nurse-patient ratios.

BACKGROUND: Critical care patients generally require extensive interventions, thereby consuming a large percentage of healthcare resources. Induced pentobarbital coma for the management of increased intracranial pressure is one such intervention, required to maintain patient stability. Quantification of these interventions, as well as the amount of nursing work required, has not been addressed in the literature. OBJECTIVE: To use the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System to analyze and quantify how interventions affect nurse-patient ratios in the management of patients in pentobarbital coma for refractory increased intracranial pressure. METHODS: The medical records of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage from aneurysmal rupture and subsequent increased intracranial pressure, in whom pentobarbital coma was salvage therapy, were reviewed retrospectively. The Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System was used to quantify the number of interventions required before, during, and after coma induction. The data were analyzed and daily Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System scores correlated with serum pentobarbital levels. Typically, a critical care nurse can manage a patient caseload of 40 to 50 Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System points. By quantifying the interventions, the score reflected the amount of care required to manage the patient in barbiturate coma. RESULTS: The intensity of interventions correlated with the level of coma, length of time in coma, and associated complications. CONCLUSIONS: The scores indicated the intensity of interventions used in pentobarbital coma and the use of resources. Nursing care and complications involved with this therapy were quantified and nurse-patient ratios were established.

Adult↗